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Washington Gears Up For Marijuana Sales

A few types of medicinal marijuana offered at Pure Green, a Medical Marijuana dispensary in Portland.

Katelyn Black / OPB

After a long lead-up, the Washington State Liquor Control Board will start issuing licenses for marijuana stores on July 7. Store owners will have 24 hours to build up their stock and can open to the public as early as July 8.

But there are a lot of issues to work out before sales go into full swing. About 80 growers have been approved to supply marijuana to stores around the state, but just one is located in Clark County, which could lead to scarce quantities in the area.

Transportation of cash and product throughout the state is another concern. Since banks are hesitant to work with marijuana stores, the companies must operate in cash, and the Washington State Liquor Control Board doesn’t yet allow stores to contract with independent security companies to ship marijuana from growers to stores. Managers are concerned about the safety of their employees in transit.